but later today, the 22-year-old goes on trial, accused of viciously murdering his own mother. ruth pyne's body was found bludgeoned and stabbed repeatedly in their home in may of 2011. >> the whole thing, you know, really upset the entire neighborhood. >> reporter: after five months of investigating, her son, jeffrey, was indicted, charged with beating her to death and put in jail. >> i really don't think jeffrey did it. he was no threat for five months. why was he all of a sudden a threat? >> reporter: ruth's husband, pyne's father, says he believes his son is innocent. but by all accounts, what happened in this suburban home is a complicated story. court records show ruth had a history of mental illness and was allegedly often violent. in 2010, she was accused of attacking jeffrey, allegedly beating him and attempting to strangle him. she was jailed for two weeks. >> her own psychologist recommended she became impatient. did the violence history with the mother provide a motive for the son to commit the murder? >> reporter: little is known about the evidence against jeffrey